THE LORD OUR DELIVERER
Pastor Ian Johnson Papatoetoe Elim Church May 2004.
2 Corinthians 1:10
10 Who Has delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
We learn at a young age the meaning of Tense
In this verse we are confronted with the eternal God and His ability to deliver us. Past Present & Future.
1) PAST
There is no doubt of God’s ability to deliver us against all odds. One great reminder of a past deliverance against all odds is the Story of David & Goliath.
1 sam 17:41
41 Goliath came toward David, walking behind the soldier who was carrying his shield. 42 When Goliath saw that David was just a healthy, good-looking boy, he made fun of him. 43 “Do you think I’m a dog?” Goliath asked. “Is that why you’ve come after me with a stick?” He cursed David in the name of the Philistine gods 44 and shouted, “Come on! When I’m finished with you, I’ll feed you to the birds and wild animals!”
45 David answered:
You’ve come out to fight me with a sword and a spear and a dagger. But I’ve come out to fight you in the name of the LORD All-Powerful. He is the God of Israel’s army, and you have insulted him too!
46 Today the LORD will help me defeat you. I’ll knock you down and cut off your head, and I’ll feed the bodies of the other Philistine soldiers to the birds and wild animals. Then the whole world will know that Israel has a real God. 47 Everybody here will see that the LORD doesn’t need swords or spears to save his people. The LORD always wins his battles, and he will help us defeat you.
48 When Goliath started forward, David ran toward him. 49 He put a rock in his sling and swung the sling around by its straps. When he let go of one strap, the rock flew out and hit Goliath on the forehead. It cracked his skull, and he fell facedown on the ground. 50 David defeated Goliath with a sling and a rock. He killed him without even using a sword.
51 David ran over and pulled out Goliath’s sword. Then he used it to cut off Goliath’s head.
When the Philistines saw what had happened to their hero, they started running away.
This is a reminder to us that against all odds you and I came into an Eternal Kingdom, Our salvation came against all odds.
Here I share my Testimony I grew up in a non Christian home I had never been to Church and here I was 19 years old. And God was delivering me out of the Kingdom of darkness and into the Kingdom of light.
He delivered me! No one can take away my testimony as it says in the book of Revelation “They over came Him by the blood of the Lamb & the word of their testimony”
2) Present
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. He eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.
One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.
It was just more than he could take. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!"
But the next day, he woke to the sound of a ship approaching the island to rescue him.
"How did you know I was here?" he asked in wonder.
"We saw your smoke signal," they replied.
We will not always understand, but we can always trust, that God is Bigger:
Again against all odds God delivers us.
Imagine how:......
a) Moses felt with the Red sea in front & the Egyptian army behind.
b) Jonah felt when he was swallowed by a fish
c) David felt with Sauls army breathing down his neck
d) Peter felt in prison when the Angle came
e) Paul felt when the ship was sinking
One of the most wonderful words in the bible is SUDDENLY
God has a habit of suddenly delivering us Today.
Here I insert Testimony of Gods daily deliverance in my life.
1) House at the 11th hour (Te Aroha)
2) Fell off the roof
3) Attack in India.
God is able and will deliver us today!
3) Tomorrow
Philippians 1:6 Being Confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Romans 8:31-32 what shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
BECAUSE HE LIVES I CAN FACE TOMORROW
Bill and Gloria Gaither have written many wonderful Christian songs. One that Gloria wrote in the late 1960’s came while she was expecting a child. The couple was going through some terrible problems. Bill had been seriously sick, their music had been attacked as not being spiritual. On new years eve night, Gloria sat in a dark room experiencing a time of torment and fear. She said, “I sat alone in the darkness thinking about the rebellious world and all of our problems - and about our baby yet unborn. Who in their right mind would bring a child into a world like this?” She was at the height of her fear and then something happened. She said, “I can’t quite explain what happened in that next moment, but suddenly I felt released from it all. The panic hat had begun to build inside was gently dispelled by a reassuring presence and a soft voice that kept saying, ‘Don’t forget the empty tomb, don’t forget the empty tomb.’ Then I knew I could have that baby and face the future with optimism and trust for I had been reminded that it was all worth it just because He lives.”And she wrote: “How sweet to hold a newborn baby, and feel the pride and joy he gives; but greater still the calm assurance, this child can face uncertain days because He lives. Because He lives I can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone, because I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives....
God is so good that He delivers us from our worst enemy PRIDE. He usually use’s relationships to do this..............
The other day I found a shoe box and found strange contents. Inside was an egg carton with 5 eggs inside. Next to the eggs was a stack of cash that totalled over 1000 dollars.
As soon as Joye walked thru the door I stopped her to ask if she knew anything about this odd combination. ‘Yes, dear, after we got married I decided that after every sermon you preached if it was a bad one I would put an egg in this shoebox’. I thought with pride about all the years they had been married and that only 5 eggs were in the box. ‘But honey, what about the 1000 dollars?’ ‘Oh, well every time I got a dozen eggs I sold them’.
Romans 8:35-39 who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
